Mugato:And I was of course called an asshole. Which I am of course but I was called an asshole for not calling it a homophobia issue. This was before I called the situation totally hot but that's besides the point.

The issue is that by calling it a homophobia issue, the parents are able to tap into some deep issues going on in American Culture today.

Looks like she's going for the gay oppression angle and hoping her cuteness will keep the jury from convicting. If you don't like the law work to get it changed but she did break the law as it stands now and she unfortunately is going to do the time. If this was a 18 year old boy we wouldn't be having this discussion. 2 years house arrest and not having to register as a sex offender is a far king gift that most people in this sotuation don't get offered.

Welcome to equality. I'm not sure why she thinks she should get special treatment because the relationship was of the lesbian variety.

tblax:Sorta surprised she rejected it. That deal wouldn't even be on the table for a male in her position. I was already having trouble sussing up sympathy for this girl but that really just does it for me

Has there been any sort of proof that the mother of the 14 year old is truly motivated by homophobia and not just the usual "I don't want my 14 year old having sex" attitude? All I've read is the mother of the 18 year old saying it's because she's a bigot.

In this case, it doesn't really matter. My understanding is that, at least in Florida (where this took place), statutory rape is a strict liability crime. There's no affirmative defense about "her parents just hate me" or "I thought she was eighteen" available - if you fark, you're farked. In Florida, the age of consent is 18, or 16 if with a person not older than 23. Fourteen is right out.

She should have taken the deal. All the prosecution has to do is prove there was sexual contact between the two. As long as the jury doesn't ignore the law, it shouldn't take long to convict.

CSB...

When I was 20 (1994), I lived in Idaho and had sex with a 17-year old I had met earlier that night at a party (turned out 18 was the legal age of consent). Holy shiat... her mom found out about the relationship and wanted the county to hang me out to dry. Luckily, the prosecuting attorney wasn't interested in completely ruining my life, so he offered me a deal. It was still a felony, but he'd recommend probation and I wouldn't have to register as a sex offender. I jumped at it. I ended up on probabtion for a little over a year (they let me off after I paid the fine). Several years afterwards, I petitioned for and was granted and order of dismissal. Whew.

(1)A person 24 years of age or older who engages in sexual activity with a person 16 or 17 years of age commits a felony of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.084. As used in this section, "sexual activity" means oral, anal, or vaginal penetration by, or union with, the sexual organ of another; however, sexual activity does not include an act done for a bona fide medical purpose.So...as long as they simply say they're not eating each other out, it's...perfectly legal. They can tussle around in bed, make out, do everything...so long as they don't do any carpet munching (or, so long as they say they aren't doing any...). That seems like a pretty easy way to win this, really...as lesbians, they are actually at a bit of an advantage in the situation. Simply going on dates, kissing, making out, that sort of thing? Not illegal.

A Shambling Mound:As with the one that put her in this position in the first place, she is going to regret that decision.

Plea deals for that sort of thing don't get any better. Now they're going to hang her out to dry.

You need to put the TV remote down there, CSI.

tblax:Sorta surprised she rejected it. That deal wouldn't even be on the table for a male in her position. I was already having trouble sussing up sympathy for this girl but that really just does it for me

Has there been any sort of proof that the mother of the 14 year old is truly motivated by homophobia and not just the usual "I don't want my 14 year old having sex" attitude? All I've read is the mother of the 18 year old saying it's because she's a bigot.

Good question. And the plea deal will involve sex offender lists and the felony conviction, so that earlier comment by someone else is out. This wreaks of homosympathy spin. And I fear if the perpetrator gets a pass it will open up a door for others to get off. Even if the parents are homophobic, that disability is secondary to the question did a rape occur. I submit with all the progress we have made we don't need to scrutinize victims because of how she dressed, flirted, etc because she is homosexual. This victim deserves equal protection under the law.

hardinparamedic:Xavier99: Hey - I am all about equality. If it illegal for heterosexual couples to have a relationship with that age difference (where one side is a minor) why should it be any different for a same sex relationship? (Gal should have taken the plea).

You know, I'm all in agreeance with you with one caveat. In many states, marriage of the two parties eliminates the possibility of a statutory rape charge.

/oh, this shall be interesting.

Are you legally able to marry at 14 without parental consent in those states? I'm guessing that the victims parents wouldn't allow that even if gay marriage were allowed in FL.

bulldg4life:I'm not so sure about the stance that "if it were a boy and a girl" there wouldn't be an issue. I mean, an 18yo "boy" would get tried as an adult and be sent to prison for 10-20 years.

The statement was that there wouldn't be any media attention if it were a boy and a girl. She is right, there wouldn't be any Media attention as it's common for statutory rape cases such as this to be ignored by the media because they are fairly common and end up just as you said.

I think that a 2 year house arrest plea was probably the prosecutors office reacting to the media attention. I boy would probably be sent off to prison for a few years and be labeled as a sex offender for the rest of his life. Now this young lady will get the same treatment (I hope). Equality not only means that you have the same opportunities as men do but that you also face the same laws and their penalties as men do.

I didn't think the relationship started until AFTER Hunt was 18? Either way, in the first thread on this I predicted they'd go easy on her legally, and they did. Can't believe she didn't take the deal.

runescorpio:hardinparamedic: FTFA: By accepting the plea deal, Hunt would have been placed on house arrest for two years.

House arrest for two years, no felony conviction, and no requirement to register as a sex offender? I understand the want to fight for a statement, but I have to say that in that position, I might just take the deal.

Thats still 2 years of her life for being in a relationship that started out as legal. Letter of the law people are the reason western society is crumbling around the edges. There is no leeway for circumstance. No mercy for petty issues.Making someones way of life illegal simply because they had a birthday and the law says that makes them an adult to me screams ignorance and for the most part indicates a broken legal system.

Their relationship never started out as legal ever. She was 18, the other girl was 14. At no point in time was this ever legal.

I don't see any problem here. The older female is 18. The younger is 14. If you're 18 or older in the U.S. sex with someone under 18 is a crime. The law does not recognize any difference between homosexual and heterosexual contact.

It's true some states allow homosexuals to marry. Most if not all states makes an exception for 18 year olds having sex with someone younger if the two are married. Still in most, if not all states a 14 year old is too young to marry without the parents permission.

This sounds to me like yet another case of somebody crying over the possibility their little snowflake might end up in prison for committing a crime.

Hey at least she wasn't in Illinois, where we had it drummed into our heads in high school that two 17 year olds having sex were by definition raping each other, and both could go to jail for a very long time if the parents had problems with the relationship.

/have they changed that law since '93 when I moved out?//In Indiana it was two years before I found someone who could tell me what the age of consent in that state was, everyone thought I was an idiot for asking. Spent two years carding every date I had just to make sure.///had a mother literally offer me the choice between her 17 year old daughter and her 14 year old daughter, because she figured I was going to college and could support one of her children easily. Declined offer. WTF.

OregonVet:A Shambling Mound: As with the one that put her in this position in the first place, she is going to regret that decision.

Plea deals for that sort of thing don't get any better. Now they're going to hang her out to dry.

You need to put the TV remote down there, CSI.

Never seen the show but I hear it involves flashlights. Not sure how that's relevant.

It seemed like a very generous deal. I understand she would reject any deal if she believes she'll be better off going to trial but is it wrong to assume that if the trial does not go her way she is going to be genuinely f*cked?

Neums:The relationship had been going on for some time, when they were 14 and 17. The parents of the then-14-year-old waited until the day Hunt turned 18 to file charges. From what I've read, they're religious, blamed Hunt for coercing and turning their child gay, and planned for the birthday to punish them. But can they prove that they were together once Hunt turned 18? Seems to me that Hunt and the girlfriend could have decided to cool thing down until the girlfriend became legal. If all the activity happened prior to Hunt turning 18, then it's not statutory rape, is it?

No it didn't and no they didn't. Go reread the facts of this case please, then comment.

A friend of mine got sent to prison for 9 farking years for something similar to this. The girl's parents were well known in the community and the DA wanted to make an example out of him. Dude must've had a really shiatty ass lawyer.

Neums:The relationship had been going on for some time, when they were 14 and 17. The parents of the then-14-year-old waited until the day Hunt turned 18 to file charges. From what I've read, they're religious, blamed Hunt for coercing and turning their child gay, and planned for the birthday to punish them. But can they prove that they were together once Hunt turned 18? Seems to me that Hunt and the girlfriend could have decided to cool thing down until the girlfriend became legal. If all the activity happened prior to Hunt turning 18, then it's not statutory rape, is it?

A Shambling Mound:It seemed like a very generous deal. I understand she would reject any deal if she believes she'll be better off going to trial but is it wrong to assume that if the trial does not go her way she is going to be genuinely f*cked?

I'm guessing they gave her such a generous deal because they didn't want to go to trial in the first place. Especially with what is going on right now with homosexual rights and how much of a hot topic it is in the national news.

Radioactive Ass:runescorpio: Thats still 2 years of her life for being in a relationship that started out as legal.

Florida age of consent is 16 so no, it was not ever legal.

This, if it were my 14 year old daughter I wouldn't care if it were an 18 year old boy or girl. I don't know if I would press charges (it would depend on a number of variables) but the sex of the other individual wouldn't be a factor.

This girl was 18 when she started dating the younger girl. The relationship started in November. Hunt turned 18 in August. The victim was 14 the entire time.

The Hunts have purposely spread misinformation regarding the circumstances in order to gain public sympathy and make it appear to the less informed that the situation was ridiculous. The statements they have made regarding the length of the relationship were false, the statements regarding age were false. They manipulated the public to create outcry where there should be none.

The girls started dating in November, and the victims parents were unaware. There was a sexual encounter where Hunt inserted her finger in the victim's vagina in a school bathroom in December, then a similar incident in January. Hunt helped the 14 year old girl run away overnight in January, at this point with full knowledge that the girls parents were not having it. She then had much more, ahem, comprehensive sex with the victim. The parents tried to stop the relationship, but when they found out, through nasty rumours at the school, and the 14 year old upset that she was being leered at by boys and treated like meat by the male students, they called the police. Hunt was arrested by mid February. The victim is a "cooperative complaining witness" and the sheriff and state attorney have made clear that the victim wants the prosecution to move forward, as well as the parents.

She was not expelled from school, which is another misleading statement made by the Hunts. She was moved to the alternative school and will be allowed to walk with her class. Male students in the same situation have been expelled, and students where age was not an issue who've had sex on campus have been expelled as well.

My best friend lives next door to the victim. The girl was well adjusted and fine until this. Now she is in therapy, depressed, acting out, etc.

The law is very clear, she violated it, in more ways than one, and any reasonable person with normal intellectual capabilities would have known that it was wrong. She is lucky she wasn't expelled and that there have been no charges for the interference with the custody of a minor with the runaway issue.

This chick gets no sympathy from me. She effed up, and the play has been to lie to the public to make herself look better.

Oh, and the parents of the victim being motivated by homophobia? That has only come from the Hunts, and they have not exactly proven themselves to be harbingers of truth. And according to people in the know, it has nothing to do with homophobia, it has to do with what their daughter is now going through, and the fact that an 18 year old girl used her for sex and then told the entire school about it.

Actually, not that. The relationship was never legal according to Florida State law to begin with.

No delicious loli for you. Not yours.

Look, lets place this differently- forget the age of consent issue. What whould we do to a 13 yr old and a 14 yr old ? Do you think that there would have been any charges ? If both parties are minors, exactly what is the crime ?

Radioactive Ass:bulldg4life: I'm not so sure about the stance that "if it were a boy and a girl" there wouldn't be an issue. I mean, an 18yo "boy" would get tried as an adult and be sent to prison for 10-20 years.

The statement was that there wouldn't be any media attention if it were a boy and a girl. She is right, there wouldn't be any Media attention as it's common for statutory rape cases such as this to be ignored by the media because they are fairly common and end up just as you said.

I think that a 2 year house arrest plea was probably the prosecutors office reacting to the media attention. I boy would probably be sent off to prison for a few years and be labeled as a sex offender for the rest of his life. Now this young lady will get the same treatment (I hope). Equality not only means that you have the same opportunities as men do but that you also face the same laws and their penalties as men do.

Yep, if that were my 18 year old son or daughter and they got that offer I would be pushing them to sign on the dotted line ASAP.

If it's illegal for straights, no reason why it shouldn't be for lesbians. The law is the law. I have no problem with two consenting ADULTS wanting to be together, but when you try to be above the law, that's where I draw the line.

A Shambling Mound:I understand she would reject any deal if she believes she'll be better off going to trial but is it wrong to assume that if the trial does not go her way she is going to be genuinely f*cked?

That's hard to say. Regardless of the facts- the media and issue of sexuality then add Floriduh will make some sort of side show out of it. Bad lawyer. Bad.

studebaker hoch:Ah yes, the awkward years when one of the couple reaches 18 and suddenly BECOMES A FELON if they continue acting like a couple.

Then the other one reaches 18 and all is well on Planet Boink again.

Not so much in this case. The 14 year old is 2 years younger than age of consent. Given the fact that the 14 year old's parents contacted the 18 year old and her parents and asked that the 18 year stay away from their 14 year old -- and then the 18 year old helped the 14 year old to run away -- well, that ratchets everything up. 14 year olds should not be in sexual relationships -- even with other 14 years olds. And their "lovers" sure as hell should not be taking them out their home.

jst3p:This, if it were my 14 year old daughter I wouldn't care if it were an 18 year old boy or girl. I don't know if I would press charges (it would depend on a number of variables) but the sex of the other individual wouldn't be a factor.